A Spectral Specialist
by Goomba300
Summary: My response to Sojoukou Senkuo's challange. Ever since a young Ash Ketchum found a stray Drifloon at his doorstep, he has set his sights on becoming the greatest Ghost type trainer in history! Follow Ash and his best friend and rival, Gary Oak, as they conquer all the challenges before them and become Pokemon Masters! Has elements from both the games, anime, and manga. Rated T


Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon and will never own pokemon. This story was and is not made for any financial gain.

AN: Now before I start let me just say: "This is a MAJOR AU story!" and I have taken the liberty to outline some of the changes that you might not catch initially. The story is rated T, but may go up to M if I feel like getting dark and bloody with the story.

-This story contains characters from the games, anime, and manga.

-All trainers in this story begin their journeys between the ages of 12-15

-Ash and Gary are twelve when the begin their journey and will be traveling together.

-As it says in the summary, Ash will become a Ghost type master, but what is doesn't say is that Gary will become a Normal type master!

-And before I forget. THIS IS NOT A SLASH STORY! Will never be a slash story. Hell, their might not even be any romance!

-All the villainous "teams" will not be called "Team [insert name here]"

-The villainous teams will actually be villainous instead of comedic relief. Also, they won't be beaten by just some nine year old with a overpowered, yet at the same time, weak Pikachu.

-Ash will not have Pikachu, in case you didn't come to that conclusion from the summary.

-As, those of you who know second gen and first gen games know, Johto and Kanto share a Champion. Well, they don't in this story! The Elite four and Champion for Kanto will be, in rising order: Silver, Gold, Green, Blue, and Red. (if you don't know who the first three are, Google it!)

-Pallet Town, Kanto Region-

Delia Ketchum looked out of her kitchen window to see a six-year-old Ash tossing around a rubber Voltorb ball with six-year-old Gary Oak in the backyard. She smiled before turning up the volume on her radio and going back to preparing dinner. Delia hummed along to a tune on the radio while chopping up some carrots, when the music abruptly stopped and the long beep that singled an emergency announcement startled Delia and almost made her drop the knife she was holding.

"We interrupt your regularly scheduled broadcast for an emergency weather announcement. The annual migration of Kyogre has once again brought about the hurricane season, creating storms ranging from category 3-4 over international waters. Reports are showing that Tornadus, whose presence brings about gale force winds, is traveling westward and is passing over Kyogre's projected migration to the cold waters north of Sinnoh, sending the storms towards land. Seaside residents are advised to board up their windows and stay indoors, the storms are predicted to hit the coast line sometime between the next 8 to 10 hours…"

The emergency broadcast continued, but Delia stopped listening. "Oh my, a storm! I best call Ash in and send Gary home." Said to herself as she put down her knife and walked over to the door to the backyard.

Opening the door she called out, "Boy's its time to come in!"

"Aw, can't we stay out a just little longer mom?" Ash whined, looking up at his Delia with pleading Growlith eyes.

"No, you can't sweetie, there's a storm on its way and it's going to be a bad one." She said to Ash, then she turned to Gary "It's best you get home too Gary before the storm hits."

"Ok, Ms. Ketchum." Gary said, grabbing his backpack and walking out the garden gate, but just as he was out of the gate Gary turned back and said, "Bye Ashy-boy, smell ya later!"

"STOP CALLING ME THAT!"

Delia sweat dropped, as Ash sent a glare at Gary, who laughed it off.

"Come sweetie, help mommy board up the windows."

Ash mumbled an "Ok" as he continued to glare at Gary's retreating back.

-Several Hours Later-

Ash lay huddled under several blankets on his bed. He had been trying to get to sleep for the past few hours, but the flashes of lighting and booms of thunder, coupled with the ever present sound of rain pelting the windows and roof kept him wide awake. Slowly closing his eyes, Ash made another attempt at sleep, only to be startled awake by another crack of lighting followed by a boom of thunder that made the room vibrate a little.

With a huff, Ash threw off his blankets and got out of bed. 'Maybe a glass of warm milk will help me sleep' he thought. Walking out of his room, Ash made his way carefully down the stairs and was about to make his way into the kitchen, when he heard a loud bang on the front door that made him nearly jump out of his skin. Ash slowly turned towards the front door, which was rattling violently from the strong winds, half expecting it to suddenly burst open. When nothing happened, he slowly inched closer and closer to the door.

"H-hello? Is anyone out there?" Ash called out when he reached to door, but he received no answer.

Pulling over a nearby stool, Ash stood atop it to look out the peephole to see if anyone was there, but there was no one out side.

"Floo…floon…drif…oon"

The quiet cry of a pokemon almost caused Ash to fall of his stool in surprise. Quickly hopping off the stool and moving it aside, Ash unlocked to door and tried to open it. Only for the wind to slam the door open. The strong winds of the storm knocked Ash right down. Looking out the door and through the pelting rain, he could see the shape of a small purple and white pokemon lying on a thoroughly soaked welcome mat. Crawling forward against the wind, Ash made his way to the downed pokemon.

-Meanwhile-

Delia was trying hard to fall asleep, but she couldn't help but worry about whether or not it was a good idea to leave Ash alone in his room. She was reluctant to do so, but Ash insisted that he wasn't scared of the lighting or thunder at all. Delia sighed, Ash was six years old, and in six more years he would be leaving like all the other twelve-year-olds to become a pokemon trainer. Her baby boy was growing up so fast, she just hoped that he remembered to wear his underwear; he had a bad habit of running around the house naked before. She smiled at the fond memories and started drifting off to sleep when a loud bang rang through the house followed by the whipping sound of harsh winds breaking things. Delia jumped out of bed and immediately rushed to Ash's room to make sure he was all right. She burst through the door to find an empty room. She almost had a heart attack right then. Rushing down the stairs she was welcomed with the sight of a ruined living room with her precious little Ash sitting in the doorframe holding a small, unconscious purple and white pokemon in his lap.

"Ash! What are you doing out here!" Delia said as she pulled Ash and the pokemon into the house and shut the door and locked the door.

"Mom, look I found this pokemon outside! I got hit against the door from the wind!"

Delia gave Ash a weary smile and hugged him tight, joing Ash on the floor next to the door. That's her little boy, going out of his way to save a pokemon in distress despite the damage it could do to himself.

"Well, next time I want you to try and come to me for help before doing something rash like opening the door during a storm."

"Ok"

"Come honey, lets take care of that pokemon, I have a first-aid kit in the kitchen." Delia said as she stood up and helped Ash to his feet.

The trio made their way into the kitchen and Ash placed the little pokemon on the kitchen table while Delia opened a cabinet and pulled out a red metal box with a white cross on the front and back of it. Placing the box on the table next to the pokemon, she opened the box and took out a oddly shaped spray bottle filled with purple fluid.

"Ash, be a dear and go look for that pokemon encyclopedia Gary got you for your birthday."

"Ok, mom!" Ash called, already running out of the kitchen to grab the book before she finished.

'Oh that boy, so impatient.' Delia thought before turning her attention back to the unconscious pokemon on the table. Upon closer inspection she noticed that its body closely resembled a purple balloon with a yellow 'X' on its face with what looks to be a white cloud on its head. It even had two long strings like arms that ended in heart shaped hands, making the little pokemon look even more like a balloon. Turning the pokemon over Delia noticed that there was a large welt on the back of the pokemon's head. 'Oh dear, this must have been where the poor thing hit it's head against the door.'

Lifting the oddly shaped spray bottle, Delia sprayed the purple fluid inside on the angry red welt, causing it to shrink dramatically before disappearing completely.

"There we go, all better." Delia said as she turned the pokemon back around.

"Mom I got the book!" Ash said excitedly as he ran into the kitchen book in arm. Ash was always excited to learn about new pokemon, it was one of the things that lead him to become good friends with Gary Oak, as they shared a deep interest for learning all about pokemon. "And I think I know what pokemon it is!"

"Oh, you do?" Delia said a little surprised at that. She was well versed in knowledge about all the pokemon in Kanto, being a former trainer herself as well as a student under Professor Oak's wing before she had Ash, and she had never seen this pokemon in Kanto before.

"Yeah, it's called a Drifloon. Me and Gary were talking about it on my birthday when we found it in this book."

Putting the book on the tabletop, Ash opens it and flicks though the pages until he comes to one with an illustration that perfectly matched the Drifloon on the countertop. The page read 'Drifloon, the balloon pokemon. Because of the way it floats aimlessly, an old folktale calls is a "Signpost for Wandering Spirits." It is a dual ghost/flying type, typically with the ability Aftermath or Unburden, however on rare occasions it can possess the ability Flare Boost…Drifloon and its evolution Drifblim are native to the Sinnoh region, but have on occasion, been found in the Unova and Kalos regions.'

A frown appeared on Delia's face as she read the description. "Well, that solves the mystery of what pokemon this is, but it we still don't really know where it came from." Delia put her hand beneath her chin and cocked her head in thought. "It couldn't have come from Sinnoh, that's north of Kanto and the storm came from the south. And Kalos is far away to the west, which means that the only explanation would be that, this Drifloon was swept up by Tornadus's winds when he traveled east from Unova!"

Ash looked up at his mom in amazement "Wow mom, how did you figure all that out so fast?"

Delia chuckled at Ash. "I'm a lot smarter than you think honey. Come on lets get this little guy wrapped up nice and warm, and put you in some dry clothes. Then the two of you can sleep with me tonight."

"But can't me and Drifloon sleep in my room, please?" Ash pouted.

"No, I should be there for when Drifloon wakes up. It'll be very confused and scared, so I'll have to be there to help calm it down."

"Oh…ok"

-Six-Year Time Skip-

An alarm clock's maddening beeping announced the 9 o'clock and the time for twelve-year-old Ash Ketchum to wake up for his big day. Why is this day so important? Well, that's because on this day, Ash Ketchum will officially start his pokemon journey!

Slamming his hand on the snooze button, Ash mumbles, "Just five more minutes…" into his pillow before getting yanked off of his bed "Woah!" and, unceremoniously dropped on the hard wood floor of his room "Ouch" was his muffled response to high-fiving the floor with his face. Pulling himself up from the floor, Ash glared up at the large Drifblim that floated above him. This Drifblim used to be the little Drifloon that had found itself stranded on Ash's doorstep during a storm six years ago. As it turned out, there were quite a few Flying type pokemon that got swept up by Tornadus' winds as he traveled west from Unova. The Pokemon Rangers had come around to get all the stranded pokemon back to their home regions. However Drifloon had opted to stay here with Ash instead. The two had bonded after that stormy night and they became the best of friends over years that followed.

"Dri-dri-dri-dri-dri-dri" Drifblim snickered

"STOP SNICKERING! THAT REALLY HURT!" Ash snapped

"Oh, calm down Ashy-boy. He only did it cause I asked him to."

Ash's head whipped around to face the door so fast he almost got whiplash.

"Gary…I should have known!" Ash frowned at Gary's form in the doorway. "Why are you here anyway?"

"I'm here to make sure that you get up in time to get to Gramps lab."

"Well you didn't have to get Drifblim to pull me out of bed!"

"Are you kidding me? You sleep like a Snorlax Ashy-boy." Gary said with a smirk at Ash's scowl upon hearing his nickname. "Just hurry up and get ready we need to leave early if we want to get to Viridian by sundown."

"Fine, just give me a minute."

-Professor Oak's Laboratory-

"Ah! Gary, Ash. You two came early. Welcome to my Lab!" Professor Oak greeted the two youngsters as they walked into the main room of his lab.

"Hey Gramps"

"Hi Professor"

"Follow me and we can get you, your pokemon."

Oak ushered Ash and Gary over to a machine with a red translucent dome. There were several poke-balls siting on the inside of the dome. The Professor pressed a button on the machine causing the red dome to rise and allow access to the poke-balls within.

"Alright boy's these are the pokemon that you may choose from as your starters. All of them are primary evolutions of pokemon native to the Kanto Region." Oak explained, picking up the poke-balls one by one. "This one is an Oddish. A rather common grass type…this one is a Squirtle. It's a very good pokemon for beginners…this one is…"

"Um…Not to be rude or anything Professor, but do you have any Ghost types?"

Oak looked curiously down at Ash. A small sparkle in his eyes "Oh? Why do you ask?"

"Because I want to be a Ghost Master!" Ash responded enthusiastically.

Oak chuckled a little. "I perfectly understand Ash…Here this poke-ball contains a Gastly, one of only three Ghost type pokemon native to Kanto. The other two being Gastly's evolutions: Haunter and Gengar" Oak said as he handed Ash a poke-ball with a little ghost symbol on it.

"Wow! Thanks so much Professor!"

Oak gave Ash a grandfatherly smile, and a pat on the head before turning his attention to Gary who was waiting patiently. "So Gary, do you have any specific type you want your first pokemon to be?"

Gary smirked "Yeah I do. Since Ashy-boy wants to be a Master Ghost Specialist, I'm going to be the Master of the only type immune to Ghosts! I want a NORMAL TYPE!"

"Very well." Oak picked up a poke-ball with an odd question mark on it. "This poke-ball contains a very special Meowth. You see, we recently caught this Meowth and discovered that it can actually talk!"

"Wow!" The boys were looking at the innocent looking ball with awe.

"Yes, it is truly remarkable, and we have learned much from him." Oak looked fondly at the poke-ball in his hand. "Here you go Gary, take good care of him."

"I will Gramps! Come on out Meowth!"

Gary tossed the poke-ball into the air where it a red beam of light shot out as it opened. The ball sailed back towards Gary and he caught it with a practiced ease. The red beam hit the floor and took the shape of a bipedal creature about 3 feet tall with a curved tail and four whiskers. As the light died down more details could be made out. The Meowth had mostly cream-colored fur with the tips of its tail and hind paws being brown. There is a large golden coin affixed to its forehead, beneath that, intelligent feline eyes studied the humans before them. The Meowth had a frown on its face and its arms were crossed with its chest puffed out.

"Well, it's about time youse grubby humans let me out!" The two boys were a bit taken aback to find that Meowth could indeed talk, and rather well at that.

"Meowth I'd like you to meet Gary. He's my grandson and your new trainer."

"How ya doing kid? I'm Meowth and I don't needs no stinkin' trainer! Let alone a snot nosed twerp like this kid."

"Hey! You can't say things like that to me! I'm your trainer!"

"Oh yeah kid? Well guess what, I just did! Whatcha going to do about it, huh? Put me back in that poke-ball? I don't think so!"

Meowth jumped up and snatched the poke-ball out of Gary's hands before promptly slicing it to pieces with his slash attack.

"Hey!"

Oak quickly stepped in to try and defuse the situation before it got out of hand "Now, now lets all calm down." To Meowth "Now Meowth, you're going to run into a lot of trouble with out a trainer of your own. Someone unsavory might come around and catch you so they can exploit your ability to speak." To Gary "Gary, you have to be more understanding and caring towards your pokemon. You can't just argue or yell at them. They're living things too and they deserve some respect and understanding."

Gary's shoulders slumped, "Yeah your right, sorry Gramps, sorry Meowth."

"Naw, it's alright kid, I guess I kinda jumped the gun too. I just don't like poke-balls is all."

Oak smiled as his grandson and Meowth began to reintroduce themselves. He looked over at the clock and realized that it was already 10 o'clock. "Oh, look at the time! You boy's better head over to Pallet House at get something to eat before heading out."

"Alright, see ya later Gramps."

"Bye, Professor."

-Delia's Restaurant: Pallet House-

Ash, Gary, and Meowth walked into Pallet House, the only restaurant in all of Pallet town, run by Ash's Mom: Delia. Pallet House is located near the center of town along with the other major shopping outlets as well as the local farmers market. The restaurant itself had a sort of old-timey burger joint feel to it. With checkered black and white linoleum tile floors, sold metal tables, a colorful jukebox in the corner, and the almost ever-present smell of delicious burgers. The walls were decorated with pictures of famous trainers, past and present, as well as an assortment of pokemon league memorabilia. The trio walked right in and took their usual spots at a small booth near the back of the restaurant, waiting as Delia came out from the kitchen to see them.

"Oh, back so soon boys?"

"Hey Mom. Getting our pokemon was really quick, because me and Gary already knew what we wanted."

"Yeah! Ashy-boy got himself a Gastly, while I got a super special talking Meowth!"

"Hey! Youse lousy twerps going to introduce me or are ya goin' ta act like I'm not standin' right here!" Meowth growled at the two boys from where he stood on the floor.

Delia sweat-dropped at the two boys shying away from the intense glare that Meowth sent at them.

"Hello, Meowth. My name is Delia. I'm Ash's mom."

"Nice ta meet ya. I'm Meowth,"

"It's nice to meet you too Meowth. Now before you boys go out and head off on your journey, you should have a bite to eat first."

The boys all nodded in agreement and bounced eagerly in their seats discussing their plan for their journey while they wait for Delia to come back with food. It was a particularly slow day at the restaurant and there weren't many customers inside.

"I don't think we should try for the Indigo League yet," Ash said while pulling out a map from his bag and opening it on the table, "Indigo used to be one of the weaker leagues, but ever since Red came along all of the gym leaders have really upped their game."

"Yeah, your right," Gary agreed, looking intently over the map and the six Pokemon League endorsed regions, "we need some time to train and build up our teams…Sinnoh looks good. I mean it's got a pretty diverse set of pokemon, and it isn't too hard or expensive to get to."

"Hmm…" Ash and Gary hummed in thought.

Delia soon came back out of the kitchen holding a metal tray with food atop it. She smiled down at the two twelve-year-olds staring intently at the world map and mumbling to themselves.

"Put that away boy's. I brought your food."

Ash quickly put away his map, and Delia placed their food on the table. The two youngsters and Meowth quickly began digging in.

"Thanks Mom!"

"Yeah, Ms. Ketchum. This is delicious!"

"Oh, thank you Gary. Enjoy boys, and Ash, don't forget to pick up Drifblim on your way out of town."

"I won't mom."

The boys made quick work of their food and began to set out talking animatedly about how awesome their journey would be and how cool they would look atop of the winner's podium at the World Tournament. They were so engrossed in their conversation they walked right into a tall, sharply dressed man. Causing them to fall backwards onto the floor while the man stood strong.

"Hey! What's the big idea!" Gary began to rant, "You should watch where you're g-g-g-GIOVANNI!"

The boys were speechless as they looked up from their position on the floor at the intimidating form of Viridian City's gym leader, the president and CEO of the famous Rocket Corperation, the one and only Giovanni.

"Do you want to run that sentence by me again boy?" Giovanni asked, his stern eyes boring holes into Gary's head as he stared down at Gary.

"N-n-no sir!" Gary said quickly, avoiding Giovanni's gaze.

"Good…"

Givoanni stared down at Gary for another couple of seconds, before looking back up and walking around the two kids on the floor. Two burly men wearing black suits with the signature red 'R' of the Rocket Corporation over their hearts closely followed Giovanni as he made his way to a secluded booth in the corner. The two boy's quickly scrambled to their feet and were out the door in no time flat. Delia shook her head at the scene that had just unfolded in front of her. She calmly walked over to the booth that Giovanni and his bodyguards were sitting.

"I'd really appreciate you not scaring my boys Giovanni."

"Delia…The usual if you would."

Delia huffed, but quickly vanished back into the kitchen and reappeared with four cups of coffee and some cookies. She placed them all on the table and took a seat herself; locking her gaze on Giovanni, a small frown on her face. Giovanni picked up one of the mugs and took a slow sip from it, completely ignoring Delia's stare.

"So…Delia, for what reason have you called me here today? I'm sure it wasn't just for you to glare at me all day while I drink coffee."

"I'm calling in that favor you owe me."

"I had suspected as much…so, what do you want? You obviously have a good thing going for you here," Giovanni waved his hand around, indicating the restaurant. "So it must not be money you want. And you aren't the kind of person to seek revenge so that avenue is also out. So what is it?" Giovanni asked coolly.

"I want you to leave my boys and whatever friends the make, out of it!" Delia hissed.

Giovanni's quirked an eyebrow and gave Delia an amused smile, "What do you mean Delia? Keep them out of what?"

"You know very damn well what I mean! I want you to keep them out of the same thing I got dragged into!" she said in a harsh whisper.

"Ah! That's what you mean. Why Delia, that was an educational exploration of wild and uncharted lands. I believe you found it very rewarding and you were overjoyed to be furthering the cause of science."

"That was until I found out what you used our research to do! You were playing…" Delia started to hiss out, but Giovanni cut her off.

"Now Delia, you signed a confidentiality agreement. You don't reveal our secrets and we won't reveal your involvement in our secrets. After all, you know the consequences if those secrets were revealed, and you know that it would only be a slight inconvenience to me. Where as it would be life shattering for you…and your son…"

Delia visibly deflated, her anger washed away and replaced by worry for her little Ash. "Just…keep them out of it…after everything that happened…you owe me this at least…" Delia practically begged.

Giovanni was silent for a long time. He only took sips from his mug and stared at the woman before him, one who had played a huge role in his greatest success and failure.

"Very well Delia…I'll let my people know not to bother the two boys…but I cannot keep my promise if they voluntarily get themselves involved in my business." Giovanni finally said, motioning for his guards that it's time to leave.

"That's all I ask."

Giovanni stood and began to head towards the door, but he stopped and patted Delia on the shoulder.

"Don't worry too much about them Delia. They'll become great one day. I can feel it in my gut."

"Your gut hasn't always been right." She snorted.

"But it's right most of the time, and that's what matters." Giovanni said before leaving.

Chapter 1 End

AN: Ah...Ended a bit weak there, but oh well! At least I finally got it out. Be sure to leave a review about improvements or questions! Also, I have a little question to ask. I would like your opinions on whether or not Ash and Gary should be a double battle team all the way through this story. Personally I'm on the fence. While it would be easier to write one on one battles instead of double battles, it would make the story much longer. Where as if they just fought in double battles the story can be shorter and less stress on me, with shorter chapters and thus quicker update times.(and less chances of me losing interest in writing this story for another). Please leave your opinion in the form of PM or review!


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